


The Man in the Snow

by Mishiin



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Doctor Matt Holt, M/M, Mushishi AU, Mushishi Shiro
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-01
Updated: 2018-06-05
Packaged: 2019-05-16 17:48:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14815964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mishiin/pseuds/Mishiin
Summary: The Holt siblings live far in northern Italy among the cold yet beautiful mountains where Matt works as one of only two doctors in their small remote town. Matt does his best to take care of his teenage sister Pidge as their father and mother work in the city. In the beginnings of winter, as the first blizzard hits, the two find a strange man named Shiro buried in the snow on the side of a road.The man claims to be a doctor of sorts, a Mushishi, that deals with what Matt would call fables and snake oil. Nonsense to a man of science. However, when strange things begin happening around their village that only Shiro seems to understand Matt begins to question what he knows and the things Shiro call Mushi.





	1. The Man in the Snow

Matt liked to think he was a smart man. He was a doctor after all. A man of science. He was always level headed and prepared for anything when it came to his patients in the small mountainous town.

 

Luckily Pidge was around to remind him that he was a complete and utter dumbass.

 

“Sometimes I don’t understand how you managed to get through eight years of college education and residency alone,” Pidge muttered, arms crossed. Her oversized glasses sliding down her nose as the car jostled and jumped them over snow and uneven road.

 

“Rude,” Matt said simply, sniffling as he tried to crank up the car heater before remembering the thing had given its last breath last winter.

 

He gritted his teeth, squinting through the curtain of snow blanketing the small town. The vast ridges of the Italian Alps the Holt siblings had grown accustomed to were practically invisible. He hated this. It had been something of a shock to check the emergency supplies and discover a single can of soup and two bottles of water.

 

How could he forget to get food when they would likely be snowed in by the first real blizzard of winter?

 

“We’ve known about this storm for days,” his sister said.

 

“I know Pidge! I get it! Your brother is a dumbass. Any other comments you wanna get out?”

 

Pidge tapped a finger against her chin and hummed dramatically.

 

“On second thought never mind. Save it for when we get stuck in the snow and freeze to death,” he sighed.

 

Matt was well aware he was pouting but he couldn’t help it. He knew he messed up. He didn’t need his tiny little sister rubbing it in. Pidge had been whip-smart and sharp-tongued ever since birth it seemed and despite that Matt had yet to develop thick enough skin to deal with her lashings.

 

Mostly because Pidge only dished them out when deserved.

 

“We’re almost home you drama queen,” Pidge said. “Just make sure not to ram the Russo’s fence again.”

 

Matt gulped, tightening his grip on the steering wheel and easing off the gas a little more. The Russo’s had been pissed when Matt had run over their fence while speeding through the snow to get to an emergency house call.

 

Allura was out of town and the Kogane's little boy had slipped on ice and knocked himself clean out, splitting open his forehead. Lance had been in a frenzy over the phone, sobbing and blubbering.

 

Matt had busted right through the Russo’s wooden fence with his tank of a car, blinked in shock, reversed and sped all the way down to the Kogane's house.

 

The Russo’s weren’t happy but little Liam was far more important. He ended up being fine, probably fine enough Matt didn't need to risk dying on the icy roads, and he happily bragged about the ten stitches in his head to everyone in town that would listen.

 

“In any case,” Pidge began. “We should probab…ly…”

 

“Pidge?” Matt glanced at her. She was staring out the passenger window. “What’s up? Something wrong?”

 

She looked back at him, green eyes wide behind her glasses. “I-I think there is someone in the snow back there.”

 

Matt’s nearly identical green eyes went wide and he hit the brakes. The tires chugged and whined against the powder, fishtailing dangerously before coming to a halt. His own glasses almost flew off his face and Pidge's forehead smacked into the dashboard.

 

“Are you sure?” He demanded.

 

“W-well I… yeah pretty sure," she said, rubbing her forehead. "I thought someone had left a coat on the road or something but I then... I think I saw a head.”

 

“Shit,” Matt muttered, drumming his fingers on the wheel of the car. The snow was piling up. They needed to get home before it became impossible to get through the road. At the same time if there was someone in the snow they would be buried in minutes to be discovered only when spring came to thaw the ice. Sheep and other animals would usually be found like that, like some kind of ice fossil. 

 

“I’ll check,” he said finally, unbuckling his seatbelt.

 

“I-“

 

“ _You,_ ” he said pointing a finger at Pidge. “Will wait right here, _capisce_?”

 

“But-“

 

“Wait. _Here_.”

 

“Fine,” she huffed, slumping into the seat.

 

Matt stumbled out in the road, blizzard tearing at his clothes and hair like knives. Bundled up as he was the cold up here could bite and sink right through to your bones.

 

He seriously hoped there was no one out in this.

 

He squinted through the snow searching for any sign of a black coat or head. At first, he thought Pidge was seeing things again because there was only the faint outline of fences on either side of the road.

 

Then he saw it. A dark figure half buried in a ditch the snow piling up around it. Matt could clearly see the outline of a black arm in the white snow.

 

“Oh, my god,” he panicked, picking his way through the snow and skid down into the ditch.

 

He hurriedly dug out the snow around the person and rolled them over.

 

It was a man. Unnaturally still and blue-skinned with a bright red scar slashed over his nose. Matt couldn’t tell how long he had been here but there were faint puffs of white coming from between his frost-crusted lips.

 

He was alive.

 

Thank god for Pidge and her eyes. She might have saved his life. If Matt could act quick enough that is.

 

“Did you find them?”

 

“I told you to stay in the car, Pidge!” He snapped, glancing at the short-bundled figure headed his way.

 

“You took too long!”

 

He gave a grunt as he pulled the man up, trying to get a stiff arm over his shoulders. Matt stumbled sideways, boots sinking deeper into the snow with the extra weight. Geez, this guy was heavy!  

 

“Open the back of the car!” He wheezed, lungs and muscles protesting the burden.

 

“There was actually someone there?!”

 

“Yes! Open the back!”

 

It took some effort but the two siblings managed to haul the statue of a man into the back of the car.

 

Pidge stayed with the man, throwing a spare blanket over him as Matt scrambled back into the car and probably sped through the blizzard faster than what was smart. A couple of times the fences drifted dangerously close to the sides of the car.

 

He shivered, shoulders hunched.

 

Whatever. The Russo’s could stuff it.

 

He did have to wonder though… what was a stranger doing in the mountain snow miles from civilization?


	2. Shiro

“Here. Made hot chocolate,” Pidge said, setting a mug next to Matt and taking a sip of her own.

 

“Thanks,” he sighed, tugging his long brown hair from its hair tie. He always put his hair up when he was in “doctor mode” as Pidge called it.

 

“I added a shot of espresso.”

 

“ _Thank you_ ,” he said gratefully, enjoying the bite of caffeine on his tongue among the chocolate.  

 

Matt had been keeping watch for hours.

 

“So… final diagnoses?” She asked. Both siblings glanced at their couch where their guest was bundled from head to toe in their blankets and bathed in the flickering glow of their fireplace.

 

Thankfully things looked hopeful for this lucky stranger. His skin had been pale, almost waxy and the fingers of his left hand had been a bright fire red. Oddly his right hand didn’t show any signs of frostbite (small blessings) but his frostbite had appeared mostly superficial anyway.

 

Now he looked much better, face a ruddy red rather than deathly blue. He was starting to shiver which was a good sign. His body was trying to warm itself.

 

“I’ve done all I can for him right now,” Matt said. “We’ll just have to wait till he wakes up.”

 

“I don’t think I’ve seen him around town.”

 

“No, he’s definitely not from around here.”

 

The man on their couch was… different to say the least. If Matt had to guess he was in his late 20s and was _very_ healthy if the solid bulk of muscle he had gotten a look at was anything to go by (with a clinical eye of course). He also had an old scar slashed over his nose and a long tuft of white bangs despite the rest of his short hair being black. Dyed probably.

 

“Might be a backpacker,” Matt suggested. “Or a mountain climber. He looks like he could be the type.”

 

“A really dumb one,” Pidge said, taking a seat next to Matt at their small breakfast table. “Backpacking at this time is suicide.”

 

Matt hummed, tapping his finger against the side of the cup. It was certainly odd. Not only did this man appear to be walking the road in the snow alone he also had no gear on him. Not even a backpack. Matt supposed it was possible he had abandoned the extra load and it was still buried somewhere in the snow. In spring they got a number of backpackers and climbers stop by but winter? Not a chance.

 

So what was he doing out in this?

 

“You’re staring at him,” Pidge said, a wry grin on her face.

 

“I’m keeping an eye on my patient Pidge,” Matt said, suddenly defensive. That sneaky smile was never good news.

 

“He is pretty handsome,” she said casually, sipping her hot chocolate.

 

Matt made a face. “I’m going to stop you right there because _no_. I’m _watching_ because there is a man with severe hypothermia on our couch.”

 

She wasn’t wrong though. With a strong chiseled jaw and sharp features, he certainly was good looking. But still.

 

Pidge hummed but let it drop and collected their empty mugs.

 

“It’s getting late.”

 

Matt glanced out the window. It was pitch black. The blizzard was still howling angrily through the mountains, tearing over the hills and houses. Their small little house creaked and rattled with the wind but Matt wasn’t worried. This old place had withstood decades of weather.

 

“Go and head to bed,” Matt said. “I’m gonna stay up.”

 

“You sure?” Pidge asked, raising a brow at him.

 

“I’m sure. I’ve got some papers to look over anyway.”

 

Pidge shrugged and nodded. “If you say so. G’night then.”

 

“Goodnight. Oh and Pidge?”

 

“Yeah?” She stopped and glanced at him.

 

Matt gave her a knowing smirk. “Don’t stay up too late with your gadgets ok?”

 

“Yes, _mom_ ,” she said, rolling her eyes before disappearing down the hall.

 

Matt rolled his eyes to himself. He lost count of the number of times he’d had to burst into her room a quarter to midnight to put a halt to her tinkering. She’d been inventing and tweaking since she could handle a screwdriver and had successfully hacked the school computers to change her art and PE grades when she was ten. He had no doubt she would invent and work till morning if he let her.

 

Matt checked his watch; 10 pm.

 

He’d give her another hour before he forced her to bed.

 

The blizzard continued to rattle the window as the fire crackled and pop. Matt looked over his papers, a new psychology study recently put out, and occasionally glanced at his unconscious patient.

 

The study was interesting and that shot of espresso should be helping him out but still, he found himself starting to doze. He had been working late the last week or so and it was starting to catch up to him.

 

“Maybe a quick nap…” He mused, looking at the couch again. “Or more caffeine-“

 

Matt blinked.

 

Eyes. Dark and slightly unfocused looking straight at him.

 

He was awake.

 

Matt hurriedly pushed away from the table, a few papers sliding off as he rushed over to the couch.

 

The man was shivering, teeth clicking as the remnants of cold rattled him. His eyes were somewhat glassy as if he hadn’t totally woken up yet, still in a haze.

 

“My name is Matt Holt,” he said softly. “A-“

 

The man’s dark eyebrows knit together, confusion only growing in his eyes. He began to move no doubt trying to kick and fling the blankets weighing him down.

 

“Hang on don’t move around!” Matt shouted, pushing the man down by his shoulders. The man didn’t seem to like that and an arm shot out from the covers, grabbing Matt by the arm.

 

“Hey!” Matt winced, the grip of that hand like a vice. “This isn’t any way to treat the person who saved your ass!”

 

“Matt!?” Pidge ran out from the hallway in her pajamas, eyes frantic and gripping a screwdriver like she was ready to kill someone with it.

 

There was a sharp inhale and the hand instantly fell from his arm, flopping down on the blankets. Matt rubbed at the spot above his elbow. What a grip. Especially for someone who’s muscles were shaking so much. It would probably bruise from the feel of it.

 

“S-s-sorry,” the man stuttered out in barely accented Italian. Accented with what Matt couldn’t tell. “W-w-wh-where-“

 

“You’re at my house and you’re safe. I’m a doctor.” He probably should have lead with that. “We found you in the snow.”

 

The man’s haze seemed to clear a bit, recognition flickering in those pitch-black eyes.

 

“Go ahead and rest,” Matt said, calm and even. “You’ll be ok.”

 

“Provided you don’t attack my brother again,” Pidge warned, screwdriver still in hand.

 

“Th-thank you,” the man said and to both the siblings surprise he smiled, faint and trembling but genuine. Then his eyes shut and his breathing evened out.

 

Matt breathed out a sigh of relief. He had some pretty bad patients back when he was working the ER in the city (car accidents, drug overdose and other horror stories he would never forget) but that was the first time in a long time anyone had lashed out at him.

 

“You ok?” Pidge asked in concern, looking him over.

 

“I’m fine.” Matt pulled the covers back up, tucking that arm back underneath. “I think I just spooked him.”

 

“You spooked _him_?” Pidge said, incredulous. “He looked like he was going to rip your arm off.”

 

“He woke up in a haze, in a strange place, unable to move. Panic is usually the first response to that.”

 

“If he tries anything I’m not afraid to use this.” She hefted the screwdriver.

 

“Yes, a teenager and a screwdriver,” he said humorously. “I’m sure he would find you truly terrifying.”

 

Pidge scowled, muttering something about the hammer in the shed.

 

“I get the feeling he’ll be out for a while. He knows we’re nothing to be worried about. You should get to bed.”

 

“Fine,” she said, fighting a yawn. She handed him the screwdriver. “Just in case.”

 

Matt stared at it. Matt wasn’t so sure how a scrawny doctor in his late 20s with a screwdriver would stand any more of a chance. That man’s bulk and muscles were unreal.

 

“I’ll see you in the morning, Pidge.”

 

* * *

 

Matt woke up to sunlight filtering through the frosted windows.

 

He was slumped against the coffee table and when he sat up his cheek stuck to the cover of a magazine. He groaned, eyes adjusting to the light. He must have fallen asleep at some point. How unprofessional. Allura would probably scold him for napping while caring for a patient if she found out.

 

Matt snapped up, peeling the magazine from his face. Right, he had a patient! He looked up and blinked.

 

The man blinked back at him. His skin was pale in the morning light but any sign of the cold seemed to have dissipated. The man sitting up on the couch under dozens of blankets was calm and collected, no sign of shivers or confused haze.

 

The stared at each other for a moment in silence. Matt wasn’t sure what to say.

 

“Hello,” the man said finally, a smile breaking out on his face. His dark eyes were soft and oddly… old? Matt wasn’t sure if that was the right word. He had seen a number of veterans before that had a similar look before. Maybe he was military?

 

“Hi,” Matt said automatically before remembering himself. “I mean good morning. How are you feeling?”

 

“Better. Thanks to you… Dr. Holt.”

 

Matt laughed nervously, not used to being called that. Everyone here just called him Dr. Matt or Matty.

 

“Just Matt is fine,” he said. “I see you recall last night.”

 

The man’s face fell. “Yes. I’m sorry for lashing out like that. I was… surprised. Last thing I remembered was the snow. I thought I had died and went to heaven when I saw you over me." He chuckled to himself. Matt didn't think that was terribly funny. "Your arm. Is it ok?”

 

“Oh. Just fine,” Matt said, despite the throbbing her could feel from it. “I’ll get you some water and something warm for you. You’ll need fluids." He stood up, feeling pins and needles in his shins from kneeling for so long. He paused. “Do you mind if I ask your name?”

 

“Shiro.”

 

Matt frowned. “Just Shiro?”

 

He gave a smile.

 

“Just Shiro.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It might be slow but I promise it will get interesting. Pardon the typos!

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, I know this sounds like a bizarre AU but please give it a chance. Sorry for any typos and bear with me as I write this! Thank you!


End file.
